Award ceremony of the “Lens on Development 2019” contest attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz
09.11.2019
Everyday life, culture and problems faced by people living in developing countries were mainly in the focus of this years’ photos entered in the “Lens on Development 2019” contest co-organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Geographic Poland.
“The purpose of the contest is to look through a lens and then show the beauty of the topics we have been handling in MFA for years through development policies and humanitarian actions,” said Deputy Minister Marcin Przydacz. He also recalled that last year Poland spent PLN 2.8bn on development assistance and humanitarian aid. “We are noticeable in the parts of the world where we provide development assistance and humanitarian aid, that is in Africa, the Middle East and the Eastern Partnership countries,” said Deputy Minister Przydacz. He also pointed that Poland is driven by the solidarity principle, therefore it will do its best to build a fairer world for everybody.
The judges, representing the organizers, i.e. the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Geographic Poland magazine and documentary photographers, selected winners and awarded honourable mentions in each of the five categories: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. The Grand Prix was not awarded in this edition.
This year’s contest winners are:
Category People
1st place: Damian Lemański, for his photo documentary “The Unwanteds” taken in the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos
Honourable mention: Adam Olesiak for the photo “Monument of Heydar Aliyev” taken in Azerbaijan
Category Prosperity
1st place: Natalia Mroz, for the photo „Rubi with a goat” taken in Senegal
Honourable mention: Damian Lemański, for the photo “Little princess” taken in Senegal
Category Peace
1st place: Bartek Rubik, for the photo “Prayer for peace” taken in Ethiopia
Honourable mention: Natalia Mroz, for the photo „Lessons” taken in Senegal
Category Partnership
1st place: Mariusz Jachimczuk, for the photo “Pineapples” taken in DR Congo
Honourable mention: Paula Agnes Langer, for the photo “There is curiosity in all of us” taken in Zambia
Category Planet
1st place: Przemek Marszał, for the photo “Memories” taken in China (Canton)
Honourable mention: Marcin Gabruk, for the photo „Tutube” taken in Indonesia
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Geographic Poland magazine have been cooperating for five years to organise the “Lens on Development” photo contest. The purpose of the competition is to arouse interest of Polish society in global development issues that the less developed countries struggle with. The added value of the event is the promotion of Sustainable Development Goals as described in the Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda 2030) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015 and binding on the member states. The goals include elimination of any forms of poverty all over the world, healthy life for people of all ages and promotion of stable, sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
MFA Press Office
Photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA